Trail Day 14: Tentsite (mile 197.2) to Whitewater Preserve (mile 218.5)

21.3 PCT miles, plus 0.5 mile side trail

We all woke up this morning and left pretty much on the order we had been hiking yesterday.  The brothers packed up first, followed by me, then Ahab & Chelsea, and finally Cocoa. The brothers took off to be picked up at I-10 and were not seen again, but I kept bumping into the others on our way down the never ending switchbacks.

Sunrise looking northeast over the valley.

Between yesterday and today I was going to drop almost 8,000 ft in elevation.  Whereas yesterday we were all battling snow, today I saw my first cactus a couple feet down the trail. We were also entering wildflower country again, though it looks like we are now at the tail end of their season. Some still look healthy, but others are dropping their petals.

We were also now entering the land of the lizards. They were everywhere. I'm starting to learn to identify the lizards and there was a good variety in species. Probably most numerous were the whiptails. It was like I interrupted a whiptail convention as multiple individuals went scattering around seemingly every corner. I also saw quite a few granite spiny lizards and the first rock lizard I have seen.

Fence lizard.

Whiptail.

Female granite spiny lizard.

Rock lizard.

Male granite spiny lizard.

Side-blotched lizard.

Whiptail.

The switchbacks themselves were very long and (mentally) got to you after a while. I appreciated that they were not particularly steep, but they also seemed like they would never end. On the way down I passed the 200 mile marker. It was already getting hot so I ended up taking a rushed picture with it.

200 mile marker.

The switchbacks.

Getting closer.

And closer.

Finally, I got to the bottom of the switchbacks where there was a water fountain provided by the Desert Water Agency. All four of us, minus the brothers, took a break, ate some food, and filled up on water. The other three were going to hitch a ride into Cabazon from the road next to the I-10 to resupply and get In-N-Out burger. I told them that since they were going to be next Hadley’s Fruit Orchard, they should stop in there for the dried fruits/nuts and date shakes.

Looking back up at San Jacinto.

I packed up first and headed towards the I-10 underpass, which meant walking across the valley. After passing some cute homes in the Snow Creek community, I passed under some noisy power lines and then headed through several connecting washes with fairly deep sand. To make things worse, it was incredibly windy. I suppose the wind may have kept the temperature down a little, but it was still a hot, strong wind. I had to put my head down into it and power through it. Apparently, the others were powering through it as well because they ended up silently passing me at a rapid pace.

Signs as you pass by Snow Creek.

Walking towards I-10 with San Gorgonio in the background.

Annoyingly noisy.

Eventually we all made it to the underpass area. There were a couple of underpasses, the first being for the railroad and the second two being for the interstate. Everyone was in a pretty bad mood considering the conditions we had just walked through. However, there were apples, oranges, sodas and water there, generously provided by DNA Minerals. Thank you, trail angels! I grabbed a Coke and two apples to eat with my lunch. Normally I wouldn't consider the underpass a nice spot to hang out, but it was incredibly nice compared to where we had just come from.

The railroad underpass.

Chelsea walking towards the interstate underpass.

Apples and oranges.

We all hung out in the underpass for a while before I continued on my way. I exited the other side and walked up the north side of the valley, passing some cute homes and then heading towards the Mesa Wind Farm. I walked a couple miles through some wilting wildflowers. I bet a week or two ago it was a sea of bright yellow, but today it was a sea of yellow brown.

A sea of yellow-brown.

The wind was still blowing pretty well as I approached the wind farm. It made me wonder if it was always this windy here, considering the spot was chosen to build a wind farm. The water report said that they might have water,  so I checked. They did not. It was hot in the valley (low 90s F) so I had drank most of my water since the underpass and was down to my last liter. The water report said that there was water in a seasonal creek 3 miles away so I figured I could hold on until then.

Danger.

Mesa Wind Farm.

As I passed the wind farm I started heading up a fairly steep valley. I had to take a lot of breaks and started to worry about my water supply, since I had needed quite a bit on my uphill climb.

I switchbacked up to a pass and saw a beautiful valley below. However, it was late in the day and I was starting to both worry about water and where I would camp. But, first water.

View from the pass.

After the pass I dropped down into the San Gorgonio wilderness,  which had some impressive canyons. What was not impressive was the condition of the trail. I was, for the most part, walking on steep slopes and the trail was fairly washed out in parts. Too make matters worse, the wind seemed to be getting stronger. Every once in a while, I had to stop and lean into the wind because I felt like I was going to be blown away.

Walking this path + high winds = sad face.

When I got to the mile were the water report said there was a seasonal creek, I saw no water. The report of the creek was from January this year. It looked to be dry now. Time to update the water report.

Now I was even more worried about water and started sipping it sparingly.  The next water was at an off trail site called Whitewater Preserve, which was 2.5 miles away, plus an additional 0.5 mile side trail. It also had camping and bathrooms (yay!), so I had no choice to make that my destination for the nght.

It was rough going. The trail was tricky,  my legs were tired, and the wind was punishing. At one point I had to resist the urge to stop and cowboy camp (sleep on the ground without a tent), partly because I was tired, and partly because I would be lower to the ground and not have to deal with the wind. I couldn't stop though, because I had to get to water for the night. I hope those other guys were enjoying their time in Cabazon.

I battled through the conditions and rounded a corner overlooking a gorgeous river. The view was honestly stunning, but I still wasn't having a good time. The wind wasn't consistently strong anymore, but there would be an occasional "super gust" that would make up for that. I would have to couch down, lean into the wind, dig my poles into the ground just to stay in place.

My first view of the Whitewater River in the fading light.

After what seemed like forever, I finally got to the turn off for Whitewater Preserve. And, thankfully, it was still light out. The 0.5 mile trail was actually pretty amazing. I wish it wasn't so late in the day so I could have appreciated it more. Basically, the path island hops the river to get to the preserve on the other side. There were tadpoles in shallow pools and I could hear frogs croaking.

A welcome sign.

Crossing the river to get to the preserve.

Tadpoles.

It was a little jarring when I arrived at the complex (a former trout farm) and saw cars everywhere. I headed towards the picnic tables and saw quite a few tents set up. I saw some people at a picnic table and asked what the proceedure for camping was and to point me towards the water. After that, I sat at the table with them and ate dinner.

There were two men, whose trail names were Shutterbug and Tripod, and a couple whose names were Isabel and Micah. Apparently all 5 of us had packed DSLR cameras,  so we were all "photograhers," according to Tripod. Tripod was a real photographer. He showed us some of his pictures and they were amazing. He also is a wedding photographer who specializes in comedic wedding pictures, some of which he had on his phone. He is very creative.

As we sat around the table I tried to decide where to pitch my tent for the night. There was really no good place to do so because we were still getting those sporadic "super gusts," and we observed that they were coming from 3 different directions. Most of the others were going to cowboy camp so they didn't have to worry about setting up a tent in the wind.

Eventually I decided to pitch my tent. Thankfully the ground was good for staking, so my stakes shouldn't rip out in the "super gusts." The gusts continued well after I was settled in my tent and were probably the strongest I have experienced so far. Because of the amount of debris I heard hitting my tent, I was also glad I didn't cowboy camp after all. My tent seems to do a pretty good job in wind, and I was thankful to have a barrier between the wind and me.